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The Point

Is America Angrier Than Ever?

Our Editors Pick the Best of What's Hot on the Web

AOL News
posted: 3 HOURS 14 MINUTES AGO
comments: 1927
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(Aug. 12) -- Sen. Arlen Specter has seen a lot in his 79 years, but nothing quite like what he just faced in Lebanon, Pa. "There is more anger in America today than any time I can remember," the Pennsylvania Republican-turned-Democrat said after Tuesday's chaotic town hall meeting on health care reform. Speaker after speaker pointed and shouted at him while the rest of the crowd cheered them on.
It's a scene being played out at gatherings across the country, as Americans who are worried and angry about President Barack Obama's proposals vent while cameras roll.
Beyond the town hall sessions, the anger has surfaced in the form of vandalism -- such as the swastika painted at a Democratic congressman's office in Georgia and the "Obama Joker" posters plastered at a Florida post office.
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Guns have become part of the toxic mix. One of the hottest videos on the Web is MSNBC's Chris Matthews grilling William Kostric about why he carried a gun to the president's town hall meeting in New Hampshire Tuesday. Police arrested another man who had a gun hours before Obama arrived in Portsmouth, N.H.
The Huffington Post's Josh Horwitz is alarmed by what he sees as "exhortations to the right wing base to take armed political action against the Obama administration." A new report from he Southern Poverty Law Center warns about the recent growth of anti-government militia groups. And USA Today has a look at the feds' stepped-up campaign to stop politically driven attacks by "lone wolves."
Town Hall Stars
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Graig Anthony Miller and Norman Rockwell's Freedom of Speech
AP
The new face of the American town hall meeting -- once epitomized by Norman Rockwell's "Freedom of Speech" painting -- may well be Craig Anthony Miller, seen above. He's the Pennsylvania man who got into a brief scuffle and then got in Specter's face.
Katy Abram also became an instant media star after her emotional appeal to Specter at the Lebanon meeting. “We don’t want this country to turn into Russia,” she declared. That led to interviews on Fox News and CNN -- and drew the attention of conservative blogger Justin Quinn, who was her date for the senior prom 19 years ago.
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2009-08-12 11:27:07
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Pavinz

03:07 PMAug 12 2009

obama's white house is falling down...he is toast and the regressives have become oatmeal... In the sixth month of his presidency, Obama has turned an economic downturn into an economic disaster, taking over and trashing entire companies, and driving the nation deep into deficit spending expected to pass 10 trillion dollars. Abroad, Obama seems to have no other mode except to continue on with his endless campaign, confusing speechmaking with diplomacy.

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Cmdr hlamb

03:07 PMAug 12 2009

....yes, they are......i loved the "death panel" touch.....added a touch of morbidity to it....just perfect.......

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ROBERTM445

03:07 PMAug 12 2009

WHY THE FU@K AREN'T YOU TUFF AZZ RACIST WHO LIKE GUNS SO DAMM MUCH, NOT OVER HELPING OUR OVER WORKED MILITARY????--BECAUSE YOU'RE A SPINELESS, STINK'IN CHICKEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!--YOU ONLY WANT TO SHOOT SOME UNARMED-i thought he had gun BLACK person-OR WIPE YOUR FAMILY OUT OR GO A GYM AND SHOOT INNOCENT WOMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!THATS WHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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LglGuru

03:07 PMAug 12 2009

Rustydobe 03:04 PMAug 12 2009 LglGuru 03:02 PMAug 12 2009 Rustydobe 02:59 PMAug 12 2009 Still waiting for a definition of a REAL AMERICAN.>>>Don't hurt yourself. It eludes all demoshits...you are no different!!************************************Can't do it, can you? You still have to give a nasty reply. Don't want to say, according to you, REAL AMERICANS are only those who are old, nasty white right wing folks who Fox Noise claims have lost "their" America. Newsflash - the MAJORITY spoke in November.>>>BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH...BRING RACISM INTO YOU EFFING LOSER!!! THE MAJORITY SPEAKS NOW...YOUR POTUS SUCKS!!! HE'S AN EFFING MORON!!!!

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IBELINDA2

03:07 PMAug 12 2009

DUEY35:::; GET A FUKIN LIFE AZZHOLE!!!!!!!! GO PLAY WITH SOMEONE WHO WANTS YOUR KIND OF ATTENTION. WIERD BASTARD!!!!!!! WHATS WITH YOU AND WALMART DUMPSTERS, IS THAT THE BEST YOU CAN DO SKANK!!!!!!

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Denise1156

03:06 PMAug 12 2009

Type your own comment hereCashman7323 03:03 PMAug 12 2009 Isn't it sort of ironic that a half African/half Wasp president would set civil rights back 50 years with his divisive policies? You'd think he would work to bring people together.@@@Boy aint this the truth. There's ONE thing he did that hasnt been done in a LONG time now. Make the "N" word more popular than ever. the man is a Divider... NEVER a Unifier.

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dmeyer115

03:06 PMAug 12 2009

IT IS THE DEMOCRATS WHO ARE THE RASCISTS!! THEY REFUSED TO VOTE FOR THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT!!( INCLUDING AL GORE'S FATHER) I REMEMBER WHEN HUBERT HUMPRHEY CAME BACK TO MINNESOTA IN TEARS BECAUSE THE DEMOCRATS WOULD NOT VOTE FOR THESE BILLS!

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Humanoid999

03:06 PMAug 12 2009

i completly support presiden obama and his agendas. it seems that this is an unpopular stance these days. i just want to tell you people who are making unsuportive and critical statements about him and his agendas that those postings are being immediately sent to the fbi and the cia.

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USA ATLAS

03:06 PMAug 12 2009

THESE TOWN HALL MEETINGS ARE SHOWING WHAT A BUNCH OF BITTER IGNORANT SORE LOSERS THE NEOCONS ARE. WHAT A BUNCH OF SUCKAHHHS !

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Woerkilt

03:06 PMAug 12 2009

Now that the flip-flops have flipped onto the other floppy foot, I'm sure that Obama critics will say that turnabout is fair play. Bush bashers made a bunch of noise, so Obama bashers get to make a bunch of noise. Sure. But there is a difference between noise and debate, between idiocy and intelligence. All this talk of Obama Hitler and Communist Democrats is nonsense. Bush Bashers did it too, but I didn't agree with them, and two wrongs don't make a right. Don't let your petty feelings of revenge cloud your minds. Criticze Obama with truth, not with Rush Limbaugh fantasies and militia hatred.

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(Aug. 12) -- Sen. Arlen Specter has seen a lot in his 79 years, but nothing quite like what he just faced in Lebanon, Pa.